The present invention relates to equipment for carrying out operations in an elevator shaft, in which an elevator car with a maintenance trestle, from which the operations can be performed, is movable.
Equipment for the servicing of shaft equipment of an elevator installation is shown in the Japanese patent specification 05097357. A platform which is tiltable out of the car wall and serves as a standing surface for the engineer during servicing operations is provided in an elevator car. Provided in the roof of the elevator car is a hatch which is closable by means of a cover and which affords access to the shaft equipment. The engineer stands up on the platform and can carry out the operations in the shaft with his upper body protruding out of the car.
A disadvantage of the known equipment resides in the fact that the car wall supporting the platform has to be mechanically reinforced and in addition fittings for the tilting and fixing of the platform are necessary, at which the elevator users can be caught by articles of clothing or objects, because the platform is disposed in the standing region of the elevator users.
The present invention concerns an elevator car movable in an elevator shaft and including a plurality of side walls extending between a floor and a ceiling to form a car interior, the ceiling having a hatch formed therein closed by a movable hatch cover for access to an elevator shaft from the interior, and a support means attached to the side walls. A maintenance trestle is folded and stored in the hatch cover and has a platform for supporting a person, whereby when the hatch cover is moved to an open position, the maintenance trestle is accessible. When the maintenance trestle is unfolded and engaged with the support means, the platform is in an erected position in the car interior and a person standing on the platform in the erected position can reach through the hatch and carry out operations in the elevator shaft in which the elevator car travels.
The maintenance trestle includes transverse connectors engaging the support means and supporting said platform in the erected position. The maintenance trestle also includes stays extending from the support means to the floor of the elevator car for stabilizing the platform in the erected position. The transverse connectors and the stays can be telescopic or foldable.
The present invention meets the object of avoiding the disadvantages of the known equipment and of creating equipment for operations in an elevator shaft, which equipment does not represent a risk either for the engineer or for the elevator users in the elevator car.
The advantages achieved by the invention are essentially that there is no risk for the elevator car users of injury on parts of the maintenance trestle, because the maintenance trestle is located outside the standing region of the elevator car users. The car interior is not adversely affected by the maintenance trestle. In terms of selling strategy the aesthetic presentation of the car interior is of great economic significance.
The maintenance trestle according to the invention completely and entirely meets this requirement, for example by the invisible arrangement of the maintenance trestle.
The maintenance trestle according to the invention also has an increased load bearing capability, so that parts to be mounted or demounted in the shaft can be intermediately placed on the maintenance trestle. The position of the hatch or the ceiling opening in the roof of the elevator car can be so selected for the performance of operations in the elevator shaft that the hatch is not overlapped by shaft equipment arranged in the shaft head, wherein in this case the maintenance trestle lies in the projection of the hatch and moreover has a sufficiently large standing area. The position of the hatch, the sufficient standing area and the increased load-bearing capability of the maintenance trestle guarantee the safety of the engineer. Moreover, the maintenance trestle is extremely simple in operation and is quickly ready for use without effort.